The new Polo WRC R, ready to hunt.
When Mads Ostberg clinched second place in Rally Sweden further expectations were evoked. Since then, however, it has been the usual Loeb way, even though Ogier has snatched a couple of victories from his master. Consequently, as it has become now, the WRC is doomed if the competition doesn’t hot up. (Note: I am not one of those who blaim this on Loeb – it’s not his fault that he is one hell of a driver, rather, the others must step up). So, what about next year?
As the 2011 season have only four rallies left, rumors and “informed guesses” dominate the blogosphere. In the last edition of Handbrakes & Hairpins, for instance, Evan Rothman writes about Mikko Hirvonen’s destiny in WRC. The reason is that, as it stands this week (5-9 September), Loeb has renewed his contract with Citroën for another two seasons, his teammate Sebastien Ogier for 2012, both MINI drivers Dani Sordo and Kris Meeke are allied to the new team for two seasons and Jari-Matti Latvala is signed with Ford until the end of 2012. That leaves Hirvonen. And don’t get me started on the rest of the pack: Petter Solberg, Mads Ostberg, Ott Tanak and Jari Ketomaa, just to mention a few.
In other words; the field is crowded. Either way I think the WRC as a sport will benefit from anyone, rookie or veteran, who actually has the possibility to challenge Loeb for the title in 2012. It will not be easy, given Loeb’s unparalleled talent and Citroën’s gargantuan budget, but if the MINI continues to improve and Volkswagen works their Polo WRC right (and perhaps Toyota announces its comeback!) the new WRC (as of 2011) will maybe get the competition it deserves. To do so, several changes are needed.
One of least communicated, but perhaps most pressing issues (as discussed in my previous blog post), was underlined by Simon Long, CEO of North One Sport, in an interview with TotalRally.com in February 2011: the importance of stability. To achieve greatness in sport, people, manufacturers and sponsors must have predictable long-term conditions.
History proves him right. Foresight was, as David Williams points out, one of the main reasons why the 1997 rule changes “made international rallying look affordable and sustainable. They have also made it extraordinarily exiting. At no stage in its history has the sport been as competitive”.
